2002 in Japanese Baseball

2002 in baseball
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2002 in Japanese baseball

Nippon Professional Baseball

Standings

Bold indicates league champion; Italics indicate Nippon Series winner

Central League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Yomiuri Giants	140	86	52	2	0.621	0.0	691	485	0.272	3.04	Tatsunori Hara
Yakult Swallows	140	74	62	4	0.543	11.0	554	528	0.263	3.39	Tsutomu Wakamatsu
Chunichi Dragons	140	69	66	5	0.511	15.5	546	502	0.257	3.19	Hisashi Yamada
Hanshin Tigers	140	66	70	4	0.486	19.0	527	524	0.253	3.41	Senichi Hoshino
Hiroshima Carp	140	64	72	4	0.471	21.0	543	674	0.259	4.36	Koji Yamamoto
Yokohama BayStars	140	49	86	5	0.368	35.5	472	620	0.240	4.09	Masahiko Mori

Pacific League

Team	G	W	L	T	WPCT	GB	RS	RA	AVG	ERA	Manager(s)
Seibu Lions	140	90	49	1	0.646	0.0	672	492	0.278	3.20	Haruki Ihara
Kintetsu Buffaloes	140	73	65	2	0.529	16.5	598	592	0.258	3.93	Masataka Nashida
Daiei Hawks	140	73	65	2	0.529	16.5	630	578	0.267	3.86	Sadaharu Oh
Chiba Lotte Marines	140	67	72	1	0.482	23.0	500	565	0.247	3.72	Koji Yamamoto
Nippon Ham Fighters	140	61	76	3	0.446	28.0	506	570	0.247	3.86	Yasunori Oshima
Orix BlueWave	140	50	87	3	0.368	39.0	438	547	0.235	3.58	Hiromichi Ishige

Leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
Batting Average		Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons	.343		Michihiro Ogasawara	Nippon Ham Fighters	.340
Runs		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	112		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	119
Hits		Takayuki Shimizu	Yomiuri Giants	191		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	193
Doubles		Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons	42		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	46
Triples		Takayuki Shimizu	Yomiuri Giants	5		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions	6
Home Runs		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	50		Alex Cabrera	Seibu Lions	55
Runs Batted In		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	107		Tuffy Rhodes	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	117
Stolen Bases		Norihiro Akahoshi	Hanshin Tigers	26		Yoshitomo Tani	Orix BlueWave	41
Walks		Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	114		Alex Cabrera	Seibu Lions	100

Pitching

Statistic		Central League				Pacific League
		Leader	Team	Number		Leader	Team	Number
ERA		Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants	2.22		Masahiko Kaneda	Orix BlueWave	2.50
Wins		Koji Uehara Kevin Hodges	Yomiuri Giants Yakult Swallows	17		Jeremy Powell	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	17
Losses		Ken Takahashi	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	14		Kosuke Kato Hidetaka Kawagoe	Chiba Lotte Marines Orix BlueWave	15
Saves		Eddie Gaillard	Chunichi Dragons	34		Kiyoshi Toyoda	Seibu Lions	38
Save Points		Eddie Gaillard	Chunichi Dragons	35		Kiyoshi Toyoda	Seibu Lions	44
Innings Pitched		Kei Igawa	Hanshin Tigers	209.2		Nate Minchey	Chiba Lotte Marines	230.1
Appearances		Hirotoshi Ishii	Yakult Swallows	69		Shinji Mori	Seibu Lions	71
Hits Allowed		Masayuki Hasegawa	Hiroshima Toyo Carp	212		Nate Minchey	Chiba Lotte Marines	222
Home Runs Allowed		Shugo Fujii Yuji Yoshimi	Yakult Swallows Yokohama BayStars	25		Naoyuki Shimizu	Chiba Lotte Marines	28
Strikeouts		Kei Igawa	Hanshin Tigers	206		Jeremy Powell	Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes	182
Base-on-Balls		Kevin Hodges	Yakult Swallows	67		Chris Seelbach	Nippon Ham Fighters	66

All-Star Game

The NPB All-Star Game featured two games and was a tie one games to one. The first game was played at Tokyo Dome and was won by the CL, 4 - 1. The second game was played at Matsuyama Central Park Baseball Field and was won by the PL, 4 - 2.

Postseason

In the Nippon Series, the Yomiuri Giants (CL) defeated the Seibu Lions (PL), 4 games to 0. The winning manager was Tatsunori Hara and the series MVP was Tomohiro Nioka.

Award Winners

The winner of the 2002 Sawamura Award was Koji Uehara of the Yomiuri Giants. He had a 17 - 5 win-loss record, 182 strikeouts, and a 2.60 ERA in 204.0 innings.

Award	League	Player	Team	Position	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	W - L	SV	IP	HA	HRA	BB	SO	ERA
Most Valuable Player	CL	Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants	OF	500	112	167	50	107	3	.334	.461	.692	Did not pitch
	PL	Alex Cabrera	Seibu Lions	1B	447	105	150	55	115	4	.336	.467	.756	Did not pitch
Rookie of the Year	CL	Masanori Ishikawa	Yakult Swallows	P	55	2	9	0	2	0	.164	.164	.164	12 - 9	0	178.1	183	20	29	104	3.33
	PL	Itsuki Shoda	Nippon Ham Fighters	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---	.---	9 11	0	156.2	145	12	37	90	3.45

Best Nine

The following players were part of the 2002 Best Nine teams.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Koji Uehara	Yomiuri Giants		P		Jeremy Powell	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Shinnosuke Abe	Yomiuri Giants		C		Tsutomu Ito	Seibu Lions
Roberto Petagine	Yakult Swallows		1B		Alex Cabrera	Seibu Lions
Makoto Imaoka	Hanshin Tigers		2B		Hiroyuki Takagi	Seibu Lions
Akinori Iwamura	Yakult Swallows		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Hirokazu Ibata	Chunichi Dragons		SS		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions
Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Tatsuya Ozeki	Seibu Lions
Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants				Tuffy Rhodes	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Takayuki Shimizu	Yomiuri Giants				Yoshitomo Tani	Orix BlueWave
			DH		Kazuhiro Wada	Seibu Lions

Gold Gloves

The following players were the recipients of the Gold Glove Award in 2002.

Central League			Position		Pacific League
Player	Team				Player	Team
Masumi Kuwata	Yomiuri Giants		P		Fumiya Nishiguchi	Seibu Lions
Shinnosuke Abe	Yomiuri Giants		C		Kenji Johjima	Daiei Hawks
Roberto Petagine	Yakult Swallows		1B		Michihiro Ogasawara	Nippon Ham Fighters
Toshihisa Nishi	Yomiuri Giants		2B		Hiroyuki Takagi	Seibu Lions
Akinori Iwamura	Yakult Swallows		3B		Norihiro Nakamura	Kintetsu Buffaloes
Shinya Miyamoto	Yakult Swallows		SS		Kazuo Matsui	Seibu Lions
Kosuke Fukudome	Chunichi Dragons		OF		Tatsuya Ide	Nippon Ham Fighters
Hideki Matsui	Yomiuri Giants				Tatsuya Ozeki	Seibu Lions
Yoshinobu Takahashi	Yomiuri Giants				Yoshitomo Tani	Orix BlueWave

High School Baseball

The 84th National High School Baseball Championship featured a total of 4163 schools competing for 49 spots in the finals at Koshien. In the championship game Meitoku Gijuku High School (Kochi) defeated Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama) by a score of 7 - 2.

The 74th National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament featured 32 schools competing in the tournament at Koshien. In the championship game Houtoku Gakuen High School (Hyogo) defeated Naruto Kogyo High School (Tokushima) by a score of 8 - 2.

University Baseball

All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series

The 2002 All-Japan University Baseball Championship Series featured 26 schools competing in the tournament at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. In the championship game Asia University defeated Waseda University by a score of 2 - 1.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention

In the Meiji Jingu Baseball Convention Asia University defeated Tohoku Fukushi University.

Tokyo Big6 Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Waseda	Rikkio	Hosei	Meiji	Keio	Tokyo
Fall	Waseda	Meiji	Rikkio	Hosei	Keio	Tokyo

Tohto University Base Ball League

Season	League	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	1	Asia	Chuo	Toyo	Nihon	Aoyama Gakuin	Komazawa
	2	Senshu	Kokushikan	Kokugakuin	Tokyo Agriculture	Takushoku	Rissho
	3	Taisho	Juntendo	Shibaura Tech	Hitotsubashi	Sophia	Gakushuin
	4	Seikei	Musashi Tech	Tokyo Tech
Fall	1	Asia	Aoyama Gakuin	Nihon	Toyo	Chuo	Senshu
	2	Komazawa	Kokugakuin	Rissho	Takushoku	Kokushikan	Tokyo Agriculture
	3	Juntendo	Taisho	Shibaura Tech	Seikei	Sophia	Gakushuin
	4	Hitotsubashi	Musashi Tech	Tokyo Tech

Kansai 6 University Baseball League

Season	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
Spring	Kinki	Ritsumeikan	Kansai	Doshisha	Kwansei Gakuin	Kyoto
Fall	Kinki	Doshisha	Ritsumeikan	Kansai	Kwansei Gakuin	Kyoto

International Baseball

The Major League All-Stars toured Japan in the fall of 2002. The touring team went 4 - 4 - 0 against Japanese competition.

In the first World University Baseball Championship in Italy, the Japanese national baseball team won a bronze medal. At the twenty-first Haarlemse Honkbalweek in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Japanese national baseball team placed fifth. In the fifteenth Intercontinental Cup in Cuba, the Japanese national baseball team placed fifth.

Japanese Players in Other Countries

Italics indicate a Major League appearance

• Craig House: Jacksonville Suns, Southern (LAD-AA); Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast (LAD-AAA)
• Nobutoshi Ido: AZL White Sox, Arizona (CHW-R)
• Hideki Irabu: Texas Rangers
• Masahito Kohiyama: China Trust Whales, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Satoru Komiyama: Norfolk Tides, International (NYM-AAA); New York Mets
• Ryo Kumagai: Augusta Greenjackets, South Atlantic (BOS-A); Sarasota Red Sox, Florida State (BOS-A-Adv)
• Katsuhiro Maeda: Sinon Bulls, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Keith McDonald: Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast (STL-AAA)
• Yasumichi Minami: GCL Red Sox, Gulf Coast (BOS-R)
• Eiji Miyamoto: Jackson Senators, Central Baseball League
• Hideki Nagasaka: Solano Steelheads, Western League; Cook County Cheetahs, Pioneer League
• Shin Nakagomi: Brother Elephants, Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Micheal Nakamura: Edmonton Trappers, Pacific Coast (MIN-AAA)
• Yuji Nerei: Jackson Senators, Central Baseball League; Puebla Parrots, Mexican League (AAA)
• Takahito Nomura: Milwaukee Brewers; Indianapolis Indians, International (MIL-AAA)
• Yoshiyuki Ohtsuka: Williamsport Crosscutters, New York-Penn (PIT-SS); GCL Pirates, Gulf Coast (PIT-R)
• Stephen Randolph: Tucson Sidewinders, Pacific Coast (ARI-AAA)
• Dave Roberts: Los Angeles Dodgers
• GG Sato: GCL Phillies, Gulf Coast (PHI-R); Batavia Muckdogs, New York-Penn (PHI-SS)
• Tsuyoshi Shinjo: Fresno Grizzlies, Pacific Coast (SFG-AAA); San Francisco Giants
• Mac Suzuki: Wichita Wranglers, Texas (KCR-AA); Omaha Royals, Pacific Coast (KCR-AAA); Kansas City Royals
• Ichiro Suzuki: Seattle Mariners
• So Taguchi: New Haven Ravens, Eastern (STL-AA); St. Louis Cardinals
• Kazuhiro Takeoka: Greenville Drive, Southern (ATL-AA); Richmond Braves, International (ATL-AAA)
• Yusuke Taki: GCL Marlins, Gulf Coast (FLA-R)
• Koichi Taniguchi: Jackson Senators, Central Baseball League
• Tetsuya Yamaguchi: Missoula Osprey, Pioneer (ARI-R)
• Nobuaki Yoshida: Fort Wayne Wizards, Midwest (SDP-A)
• Masato Yoshii: Montreal Expos

Hall of Fame

The following people were elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame:

• Ikuhara Akihiro, by New Century Committee
• Nakazawa Fujio, by Special Committee
• Yutaka Fukumoto, by Sportswriters Committee
• Shiki Masaoka, by Special Committee
• Lefty O'Doul, by New Century Committee
• Keishi Suzuki, by Sportswriters Committee
• Kenjiro Tamiya, by Sportswriters Committee
• Kazuhiro Yamauchi, by Sportswriters Committee